Five of seven inland facilities in England and Wales never became operational after the Conservative government scaled back planned checks on goods from the European Union.
The UK spent at least £100 million on Brexit border facilities that were never used, The Guardian said, drawing on newly disclosed HMRC figures. The newspaper characterized the spending as wasted taxpayers’ money.
The facilities had been planned for checks on goods arriving after Brexit. The Conservative government decided not to introduce all the checks after concluding that food from the European Union would remain at its pre-Brexit standard. Five of the seven inland facilities never became operational.
The figures, released under a freedom-of-information request, distinguish the cost of acquiring and preparing sites from the cost of closing them. The site at Guston, near Dover, remains a field; the Department for Transport paid for its acquisition and initial ground works.
| Site | Costs disclosed |
|---|---|
| Guston | £28 million total: £21 million to acquire the site and £7 million for initial ground works |
| Birmingham airport car park | £17 million total: £11 million to build and £6 million to close |
| Warrington | £7 million to acquire, £9 million to build and £1 million to decommission |
| Ebbsfleet | £10 million total: £4 million to convert a station car park into a truck park and £6 million to close it |
| North Weald airfield | £5 million total: £3 million to build and £2 million to close |
HMRC said the Birmingham, Ebbsfleet and North Weald facilities did not require land purchases.
Four bodies were recovered on 9 November after the boat sank off Kébémer. Rescue teams continue to search 25 kilometers of coast. Senegal’s Interior Ministry said 1 person was rescued, but the number missing remains unknown.
Sevington in Kent remains operational. Its previously disclosed total capital costs came to £154 million, including £30 million for farmland and £70 million to build the facility. The newly disclosed figures put its operating costs separately at £179 million.
Holyhead is the other inland facility still operating. The figures put its acquisition cost at £14 million and construction at £23 million. The inland-facility figures are separate from investments by ports and other operators.
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